Barring Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni is arguably the most popular and definitely the most scrutinised cricketer from India. He has done so coming from the cricketing backwaters, the mining state of Jharkhand, and through a home-made batting and wicketkeeping technique, and a style of captaincy that scales the highs and lows of both conservatism and unorthodoxy. Under Dhoni's captaincy, India have won the top prize in all formats: the No.1 Test ranking for 18 months starting December 2009, the 50-over World Cup in 2011 and the World Twenty20 on his captaincy debut in 2007.

Dhoni, then a ticket inspector with the Indian Railways, had escaped all attention bar the odd whisper among the followers of club cricket in Kolkata until he was 23 when he blasted two centuries in a triangular 50-over tournament for India A in Nairobi in 2004. Long-haired and fearless, he soon swaggered into international cricket, and became an instant darling of the crowds with ODI innings of 148 and 183 within a year of his debut.

Dhoni demonstrated all that was right with the new middle-class India. He didn't respect reputations, but never disrespected. He improvised, he learned, but didn't make an apology about his batting style, which was not the most elegant. He still batted with low, hockey hands, he still didn't look elegant but became a multi-faceted ODI batsman, one who could accumulate, one who could rebuild, and one who could still unleash those big sixes.

Along the way Dhoni showed leadership skills, which were recognised when Rahul Dravid gave up captaincy in 2007. Just before that announcement from Dravid, Dhoni had taken a bunch of kids to South Africa and was leading India to a World Cup win in a format the country didn't even take seriously. The ODI captaincy was natural progression, and Anil Kumble just kept the seat warm in Tests for a year.

Dhoni brought to captaincy a thick skin and relative indifference to results that an Indian captain needs to keep the job for long. Along with coach Gary Kirsten, he put his senior performers in a comfortable place, and they returned the favour with some of their best years in international cricket. His calmness on the field helped and worked like a charm in the shorter formats, although tactically he sometimes sat back for too long in Tests. All that can't argue against the fact that India had some of their best years in Test cricket, in terms of tangible achievement, under Dhoni, and that Dhoni has for years been among the best few ODI batsmen in the world.

However, post the 50-over World Cup win in 2011, which Dhoni sealed with a timely 91 and his patented helicopter shot, reality struck, and an ageing team kept losing in unfamiliar conditions. After eight straight Test losses away from home, Dhoni the captain came under immense pressure, which was accentuated by a 2-1 home series loss to England in 2012-13, the first time India had lost at home in more than eight years. This brought out a new chapter in Dhoni's career wherein he seemed more assertive as a captain, started building a new team, played his best Test innings on a turner to win India the Chennai Test against Australia, and became the first captain to lead India to win four wins in a series.

Away from home in the winter of 2013-14, India lost Test series in South Africa and New Zealand by 1-0 margins that did not reflect how close they came close to wins on both tours. The England tour of 2014 began promisingly, with a drawn first Test followed by a historic win at Lord's, but India crashed to earth immediately afterwards to lose the series 3-1. At Old Trafford and The Oval, with the batting crumbling around him, Dhoni played a couple of his bravest innings in Tests, dealing with the seam movement and bounce by stepping down the pitch and taking blows on his body.
Wins once again proved elusive on the tour of Australia that followed, though India competed ferociously thanks to a young batting core led by Virat Kohli.

Kohli had captained the side in the first Test, with Dhoni injured, and he would lead them in the fourth and final Test too, with Dhoni making a surprise announcement after the third Test in Melbourne that he was retiring from the longest format.
Though his game was not as suited to Tests as it was to limited-overs cricket, Dhoni ended his career in whites with a proud record for a wicketkeeper, with 4876 runs at an average of just over 38, and six hundreds. He had also captained India to more Test wins - 27 - than anyone else.

Dhoni continued to lead India in the shorter formats, and they shrugged off a win-less tour of Australia by reaching the semi-finals of the 2015 World Cup. A year later, they won the Asia Cup T20 in Bangladesh but exited the World T20 in the semi-finals, at home. Dhoni enjoyed a good tournament as a finisher, scoring 89 runs while only being dismissed once in five innings; he showed electric reflexes while keeping to the spinners and indicated he could yet play on till the 2019 World Cup, though he gave up the limited-overs captaincy in January 2017.

Dhoni has also found a new home in the IPL, having been the face of the Chennai Super Kings franchise for the first eight seasons of the tournament, leading them to two titles and four runner-up finishes. He became so deeply associated with the city that he even became a co-owner of a Chennai-based football franchise. But in 2016, with Super Kings suspended for two seasons, he became the first player signed up by the new franchise Rising Pune Supergiants.Sidharth Monga

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Timeline

August 16 and 19, 2004 An "A" tour

Scores consecutive centuries against Pakistan A, which guide India A into the final of the triangular tournament. Is named Man of the Series.

December 23, Chittagong An uncharacteristic start

At 23, makes his ODI debut in Chittagong, and is run out for a duck. Finishes the three-match series with 19 runs.

February 8, 2005 Missing Test selection

Smashes an unbeaten 102 off 96 balls for India Seniors against India B in the Challenger Series. However, Dinesh Karthik is picked to keep wicket for the forthcoming Test series against Pakistan.

Picked for the home ODI series against Pakistan, captures the imagination of the country by plundering 148 off 123 balls at No. 3 in only his fifth ODI innings. This is the first one-day century by an Indian wicketkeeper - barring Rahul Dravid. India pile up a mammoth 356, and take a 2-0 lead in the series.

October 31, 2005 Double the fun

Having established himself in the one-day side, shatters records by smashing 183 not out off 145 balls with 15 fours and 10 sixes in Jaipur, as India successfully chase Sri Lanka's 298. It is the highest ODI score by a wicketkeeper, and spurs India to a 3-0 series lead. Is adjudged Man of the Series after India beat Sri Lanka 6-1.

December 2, 2005 Tests, here I come

Makes his Test debut in Chennai, and scores 30 in a rain-ruined match against Sri Lanka.

Scores his maiden Test half-century - 51 off 51 balls - in the second innings of the Delhi Test against Sri Lanka, and adds unbeaten 104 runs for the seventh wicket with Yuvraj Singh, a partnership that puts the Test beyond Sri Lanka's reach.

January 23-24, 2006 Have shots, will play

First Test century. At 281 for 5 in reply to Pakistan's 588 in Faisalabad, India are facing a charged-up Shoaib Akhtar and a follow-on looms large. Plays an array of memorable hooks, and blitzes his way to 148 off 153 balls, and gives India a 15-run lead.

February 6, 13, 19, 2006 Finishing moves

Continues his excellent ODI form in Pakistan, and develops a reputation of a finisher, scoring 68 off 53 balls, 72 off 46 balls, and 77 off 56 in the five-match series in Pakistan, which India win 4-1.

With an average over 52 after 42 matches, at a strike-rate of 103, displaces Ricky Ponting as the No. 1 batsman in the ICC ODI rankings.

May 10, 2007 Winning on one leg

Battles cramps and saves India further ODI embarrassment after the World Cup. Chasing Bangladesh's 250 in Mirpur, India are in a disarray at 63 for 3, but he steers them home with 91 off 106 balls.

July 23, 2007 Serene saviour

Saves the Lord's Test with a dour innings by his standards. Chasing a target of 380 in the first Test, India are 145 for 5 with the best part of the final day remaining. Shelves his cavalier approach, rides his luck, bats for over three hours, and faces 159 balls for his 76 not out. Manages to hang on until rain forces a premature end to the Test with India on 282 for 9. India go on to win the three-Test series 1-0.

Comes in for criticism for bold non-selections of Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid for the CB Series. Is vindicated as India go on to win the Australian triangular event for the first time, beating Australia 2-0 in the final series.

April 11-13, 2008 Test captain

In Anil Kumble's absence, captains in Tests for the first time, and India beat South Africa in three days on a Kanpur minefield to level the series 1-1.

December 6, 2009 On top of the Test world

India beat Sri Lanka in Mumbai to win the series 2-0 and take over as the No.1 Test team for the first time. Dhoni the captain also enjoys his time as batsman, scoring two centuries in three innings in the series.

India become the first host nation to win the World Cup, as Dhoni leads his team to a magnificent triumph, beating Australia, Pakistan and Sri Lanka in consecutive knockout matches. Dhoni shows the way with the bat too, scoring a supremely composed unbeaten 91 in a difficult run-chase in the final.

Dhoni is playing his fifth ODI and walks in at No. 3 after Sachin Tendulkar has fallen in the fourth over. The pitch is flat, and Dhoni cashes in in a spectacular manner. He scores his maiden ODI century, 148 off 123 balls with 15 fours and four sixes, and by the time he's done Virender Sehwag's 74 off 40 balls has been overshadowed. It is the highest score by an Indian wicketkeeper - barring Rahul Dravid - and by the time Dhoni is out, India are 289 for 4 in the 42nd over.

183 v Sri Lanka, Jaipur, 2005-06

Sri Lanka set India a formidable 299 to win, and India lose Tendulkar in the first over. But Dhoni, promoted to No. 3, plunders 183 off 145 balls, and takes India to victory with 23 balls to spare. His innings includes 15 fours and 10 sixes, and it is the highest score by a wicketkeeper, the highest individual score batting second, and it has the highest number of runs scored in boundaries at the time.

148 v Pakistan, Faisalabad 2005-06

After Pakistan have scored 588 in the first innings, India are in danger of conceding a massive first-innings lead after losing their top five for 281. Dhoni disregards the match situation, matched fire with fire, and what follows is a breathless knock that kills any chances of a result in the Test. A fired-up Shoaib Akhtar steams in and peppers Dhoni with a barrage of short balls, but Dhoni responds with a thrilling counterattack, hooking and pulling with aggression that almost approaches recklessness. He hits four sixes and 19 fours in his innings for 148, which take him only 153 balls. By the time he is out, India trail by only 97 runs.

This is perhaps Dhoni's most valuable innings, for it helps India avoid impending defeat and provides the turnaround for a historic series victory in England. He has played an atrocious shot to get out for a duck in the first innings, and is the last of India's recognised batsmen, when at 145 for 5 India need to bat for more than two sessions to save the Test. He adds 86 for the sixth wicket with VVS Laxman who gets out with India on 231 for 6. Dhoni rides his luck, survives several edges and bats for 159 balls for his 76. He keeps losing partners, but manages to hang on with Sreesanth, the No 11, until the rain, which has threatened to arrive all day, finally does and ends the Test.

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